Microsoft Image Composer

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم Microsoft Image Composer Image Editing Software Eng. Abdelaziz Mahmoud Ibrahim 2014 1

Reference : Microsoft Image Composer Help Content Page No 1 Lesson_1 - Opening & Inserting Files 3 2 Lesson_2 - Arrange Room 15 3 Lesson_3 - Cutting Room 29 4 Lesson_4 - Add Text 43 5 Lesson_5 - Create Shapes 49 6 Lesson_6 - Painting Room 53 7 Lesson_7 - Effects Room 58 8 Lesson_8 - Texture Room 64 9 Lesson_9 - Impressionist plug-in Room 69 10 Lesson_10 - Gif Animator 72 2

Lesson_1 Opening & Inserting Files Microsoft Image Composer 3

What is Microsoft Image Composer? Microsoft Image Composer is an application for creating compositions for display on Web sites, CD-ROMs, games, or other on-screen destinations. Use existing images in a wide variety of formats or create new art. Image Composer offers a combination of powerful tools, a huge workspace, and sample images to help anyone produce professional-looking images. The following figure shows a composition created with Image Composer. Image Composer was designed for experimentation. You can apply effects easily, view the results, and then modify or undo those effects to achieve the result you seek. You enjoy the following advantages when you work with Image Composer: Industry-standard file formats. You can use Image Composer to work with a wide variety of popular file formats, including TIFF (.tif), CompuServe GIF (.gif), Portable Network Graphics (.png), Targa (.tga), JPEG (.jpg), Adobe Photoshop (.psd), and more. For scanned images, Image Composer supports the TWAIN interface. Simplified interface. In addition to standard menus and toolbars, Image Composer functions are divided into groups and placed on tool palettes. For example, all paint tools are grouped on the Paint palette. Popular plug-in sets. 4

Image Composer includes the Impressionist plug-in with dozens of effects and filters, and supports the use of popular plug-ins that adhere to the Adobe Photoshop Plug-In Interface standard. Hundreds of sample images. Browse the images in the Sample Sprites Catalog by clicking Sample Sprites Catalog on the Help menu and insert them into your composition. These images include scenes of nature, animals, plants, textures, buttons, and more. Wizards for creating buttons and for saving files Creating buttons takes just a few mouse clicks with the Button Wizard. Choose from a variety of shapes, colors, and textures. Save compositions for Web sites by using the Save for the Web wizard. The composition space The composition space in Microsoft Image Composer has two purposes: It helps you lay out a composition by providing a virtual drawing board that you can place sprites on. You can then use the workspace, which surrounds the composition space, as a temporary storage area for the sprites you want to lay out. 5

It defines the content of a composition that you save in a flat file format, such as a Windows bitmap (.bmp) or GIF (.gif) file. Saving a composition in such a format flattens the image and crops it so that only the portion of the composition that rests on the composition space is saved. When you save a composition as a Microsoft Image Composer (.mic) file, you save everything in the workspace, including the sprites that lie outside the composition space. For more information about saving compositions, see Opening and Saving Files Overview. Resizing the composition space You can adjust the size of the composition space before or after you add sprites to your composition. For example, you can resize the composition space to match the size of an image you want to create for a Web page and then add sprites to your composition. Or you can add sprites to a composition first and then resize the composition space so that it contains just the portion of the composition that you want to save in a flat file format. When you save a composition as a flat file, the size and location of the composition space are important because only the portion of the composition that is bounded by the composition space will be saved. When you save a composition in Microsoft Image Composer (.mic) format, the entire workspace is saved, so you can use the composition space exclusively to help you lay out and align sprites. 6

The composition space cannot be smaller than 3 x 3 pixels or larger than 4096 x 4096 pixels. To resize the composition space 1 Position the pointer over a composition guide. To resize the composition space in two directions, position the pointer over one of its corners. Tip If the composition guides are hidden, click Composition Guides on the View menu to display them. 2 Drag the composition guide to its new location: To move both of the horizontal composition guides or both of the vertical composition guides, hold down CTRL while dragging. To move all four composition guides, hold down CTRL while dragging a corner of the composition space. To maintain the current aspect ratio, hold down SHIFT while dragging a corner. 3 Release the mouse button. Changing the appearance of the composition space You can set the width, height, and color of the composition space for each new composition or for the current composition only. You can also save the current settings as the new default or revert those settings to the default settings you last saved. For example, if you plan to create many compositions for a Web page with a specific background color, you can change the default color of the composition space to that color. To change the appearance of the composition space 1 On the File menu, click Composition Setup. 2 Click the Current Composition tab to change the settings for the current composition only. 7

or Click the New Composition Defaults tab to change the settings for all new compositions. 3 Change the current settings: To: Change the width. Change the height Revert to the default settings for the current composition current settings for all new compositions Do this: Specify a new value in the Width box. The width is measured in pixels. Specify a new value in the Height box. The height is measured in pixels. Click Edit. Then choose a new color in the Color Picker dialog box. Click Use Current on the New Composition Defaults tab. 4 Click Apply to apply these settings, or click OK to apply these settings and close the dialog box. Opening and saving files overview In Microsoft Image Composer, you can open or save your file in many popular graphics file formats, including: Windows Bitmap (.bmp) Kodak FlashPix (.fpx) CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format (.gif) Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg) Microsoft Image Composer (.mic) 8

Microsoft Picture It! (.mix) Portable Network Graphics (.png) Adobe Photoshop 3.0 (.psd) Targa (.tga) Tagged-Image Format File (.tif,.tiff) If you save your work as an Image Composer composition (an.mic file), all sprites remain independent of one another when you reopen the file. You can also retain individual sprites by saving to a.psd file. Saving in any other file format flattens a composition, which means that you cannot manipulate the sprites as separate objects when you reopen the file. You can elect to save an entire composition or specific sprites in the composition. In addition to standard Save and Save As commands, the File menu offers these options. Inserting files and images overview You can insert images from a great variety of sources outside of Image Composer as part of a composition. When you insert an image into a composition, it becomes a sprite. Sources include: Files in popular image formats, including.bmp,.gif,.psd,.jpg, and many more. Images from Photo CDs, if installed. OLE objects, such as Excel Charts or Microsoft Word documents, depending on which applications are installed. Clip Art from the Microsoft Clip Gallery 3.0, if installed. 9

Buttons created with the Button Wizard. Images scanned using the Twain interface, if scanner installed. You can insert images in any of the following ways: The Insert menu for files, Photo CDs, OLE objects, Clip Art images, and buttons. The File menu for scanned images. Drag and drop from the Windows Explorer or other applications. Cut and paste images from the Clipboard. Inserting files Use the Insert From File command to insert a file from your hard disk, a network drive, or floppy disk into a composition. To insert a file 1 On the Insert menu, click From File. 2 In the Inserts an image file dialog box, click a folder in the Look in box. 3 In the Files of type list, click a file format. 4 In the file list, click a file name, or type a name in the File name box. 5 Click OK. The file is inserted into the upper-left corner of the composition space. Inserting Photo CD images You can insert an image from a Photo CD into your composition. Be sure that you have put the Photo CD into the appropriate drive. To insert an image from a Photo CD 1 On the Insert menu, click From Photo CD. Image Composer displays the Insert from Photo CD dialog box. 2 In the Available CD-ROM devices list, click the drive containing the images you want to insert. 10

3 In images list, click the image you want to insert in your composition. 4 In the file list, click a file name, or type a name in the File name box. 5 Click OK. Image Composer displays the second Insert from Photo CD dialog box. 6 In the Resolution list, click the resolution you want the image to be rendered in Image Composer. This dialog box also displays copyright information about the image you have selected. 7 Click OK. The image is inserted into the upper-left corner of the composition space. Inserting OLE objects overview Your composition can contain OLE objects created by Microsoft Office applications and other programs installed on your computer, including: New OLE objects you create within Image Composer by using other applications. Existing OLE objects from Microsoft Office or other applications. When you create or insert an OLE object, that object becomes a special kind of sprite. Such sprites retain their OLE properties, so you can re-activate these objects in Image Composer by doubleclicking them. For example, if you want to enliven the appearance of an Excel chart, you can insert that chart into Image Composer, apply effects and colors, return it to Excel, include it in a report, or send it as part of an email message. Editing data in OLE objects When you work with an existing OLE object, you can edit the data in the object, but the changes are not propagated to the program that created the object. When the data changes in the program that created it, these changes are not propagated to the object in Image Composer. When you click an existing OLE object in Image Composer, the application that created it takes over from the Image Composer interface. Then you can work with an existing object in its native environment. For example, if you insert an image created in Microsoft Paint, the Paint tools and tool bars are displayed for your use. Some programs that create OLE objects, such as Clip Gallery, create separate windows. Image Composer continues to display information in its status bar. Saving OLE objects 11

When you save an OLE object in.mic (Microsoft Image Composer) file format, you create a sprite that has preserved the OLE properties. Such sprites can be reactivated as OLE objects. Saving to another file type removes the OLE properties and creates an ordinary sprite. Inserting clip art You can insert an image from Microsoft Clip Gallery into a composition when Clip Gallery is installed on your computer. To insert a clip art image 1 On the Insert menu, click Clip Art. The Microsoft Clip Gallery dialog box displays. 2 In the Microsoft Clip Gallery dialog box, click the Clip Art tab. 3 In the Clip Art list, click a category. 4 In the image pane, click the image you want to insert into your composition. 5 Click Insert. The file you chose is inserted into the upper-left corner of the composition space. Creating and modifying buttons Use the Button Wizard to create buttons with interesting shapes, textures, colors, and text for your web sites. After you create the buttons, use the Button Editor to edit the text, or apply effects or change colors. To create a button using the Button Wizard 1 On the Insert menu, click Button to display the Button Wizard. 2 Follow the instructions provided by the wizard. The button you created is inserted into the upper-left corner of the composition space. Buttons are a special type of sprite. Each button is actually a group of sprites comprising a shape, text, and, if specified, an image. To modify a button and preserve its properties, use the Button Editor. If you save a button to a file type other than.mic, the button loses its properties. To modify a button created with the Button Wizard 1 Click the button. 2 On the Edit menu, click Button to display the Button Editor. 3 Click the tab for the properties you want to change and make the necessary changes. 4 Click OK. 12

Inserting scanned images You can insert images from a scanner directly into Image Composer by using the TWAIN interface. To insert a scanned image 1 On the File menu, click Scan Image, then Select Scan Source. 2 In the Select Scan Source dialog box, click a scanner from the list. 3 Click Select. 4 On the File menu, click Acquire Scan. 5 From the TWAIN dialog box for your scanner, choose from available settings, such as type of color, path (if you want to scan to a file and not to Image Composer), brightness, contrast, and scale. Use the settings in this dialog box to make any changes to the image before you insert it into your composition. 6 Click Final. The image you scanned is inserted into the upper-left corner of the composition space. Cutting, copying, and pasting images You can cut images from within, or from outside, Image Composer, and paste them into your composition by using the Clipboard. In addition to the usual Clipboard behavior, Image Composer provides the Paste Special command so you can determine the format of the image being pasted into your composition. To cut and paste an image 1 Click the file, image, or data you want to insert into your composition. 2 On the Edit menu, click Copy or Cut. 3 On the File menu, click Paste. The image is inserted into the upper-left corner of the current view. Dragging and dropping images Dragging and dropping is an easy way to add images to a composition. You can use drag-and-drop insertions to copy images from your hard disk, a network drive, or even from a Web site, if you have permission to use a specific image. 13

However, be aware that any image you might copy by using drag and drop might be copyrighted. Be certain to check that you have permission to use any image you want to include in a composition. To drag and drop an image 1 In Windows Explorer, click the file containing the image you want to insert into your compostion. 2 Drag the image to the Image Composer workspace and release the mouse button. 14

Lesson_2 Arrange Room Microsoft Image Composer 15

Arranging sprites overview Arrange palette 16

Flipping a sprite Flip tools Flip a sprite when you want to change its orientation. For example, you can flip a sprite of a face so that it faces left instead of right. Click the picture above to see an example of flipping a sprite. Rotating a sprite Rotate a sprite when you want to turn it about on its center. You can rotate a sprite 90 degrees to the left or to the right, or rotate it 180 degrees, which is the same as flipping it horizontally and vertically. You can also rotate a sprite freely by specifying the degrees by which you want to turn it. Click the pictures above to see examples of rotating a sprite. 17

In the Rotation box, type the number of degrees that you want to rotate the sprite by. This number must be between -360 and 360. For example, if you want to rotate the current sprite halfway between its current position and a Rotate Right 90 position, type 45. Then click Apply. Resizing a sprite Resizing Tools Resize a sprite when you want to shrink or enlarge it. You can resize a sprite by dragging it to a new size, or by specifying new measurements for its width and height. When you resize a sprite, you can change it height and width independently, or you can maintain its aspect ratio so that resizing it in any direction preserves it proportions. Click the picture above to see an example of resizing a sprite. 18

To resize a sprite by hand 1 Select the sprite you want to resize. 2 Position the pointer over a resizing handle, and drag that handle to a new location. Tip When you drag the resize handle, use SHIFT to maintain the sprite s proportions, or use CTRL to resize the sprite around its center. To resize a sprite numerically 1 Select the sprite you want to resize. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, select the Keep aspect ratio check box if you want to maintain the sprite s width with respect to its height as you resize it. 4 In the Units box, click Percent if you want to resize the sprite by a specified percentage, or click Pixels if you want to specify the sprite s width and height in pixels. 5 In the Width and Height boxes, type the new size of the sprite: If you chose Percent in the Units box, type the percentage that you want to increase or decrease the sprite by. This value must be between 0 and 999. For example, to double its size, type 200 in both boxes. If you chose Pixels in the Units box, type the number of pixels for its width and height. This value must be between 1 and 4096. 1 Click Apply. Cropping a sprite Crop/Extend tool Crop a sprite when you want to keep a rectangular portion of the sprite and trim away the rest of it. Cropping is particularly useful when you import a picture, and you want to trim its background. You can crop a sprite as an alternative to creating a rectangular cutout. For more information, see Creating rectangular and oval cutouts from a sprite. 19

Click the picture above to see an example of cropping a sprite. To crop a sprite 1 Select the sprite you want to crop. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Crop/Extend. 4 Position the pointer over a cropping handle, and drag that handle to a new location. You can click and drag each cropping handle many times until the image is cropped the way you want. 5 Click away from the sprite. Aligning sprites with each other Align tools The Align buttons on the Arrange palette provide 12 ways to align sprites. You can align their tops, bottoms, left or right sides, or each of their four corners, centers, or edges. Use one of these methods when you want two or more sprites to line up evenly. Click the picture above to see an example of aligning sprites. To align sprites with each other 1 Select the sprites you want to align. The sprite whose bounding box has solid black handles is the sprite that the other selected sprites will align with. You can choose a different source sprite in the current selection by pressing TAB. For information about selecting sprites, see Selecting sprites, tools, and colors. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 20

3 In the Arrange palette, click one of the Align buttons. 21

Grouping sprites Combine a set of sprites into a group when you want to treat those sprites as a single sprite when you position or arrange them in a composition, or when you want to order them in the stack. A group of sprites is similar to a selection set of sprites with one important distinction: selection sets are maintained until you click outside the selection, whereas grouped sprites are maintained until you separate them with Ungroup. Sprites that are already grouped can be nested in a larger group. Image Composer remembers the original grouping of sprites that you place in a larger group. Note Certain actions, such as rotating, resizing, cutting out, and applying effects and texture transfers, cannot be performed on a group. You must first ungroup the sprites or flatten the selection. For details, see Ungrouping sprites and Flattening a selection. To group sprites 1 Select the sprites you want to group. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Group. Ungrouping sprites Ungrouping separates grouped sprites and places them in a selection set. If the group consists of smaller groups, those smaller groups remain grouped. Ungrouping is similar to exploding in that both actions break up a grouped sprite. However, when you explode a group, the result is always a set of individual sprites regardless of whether some of those sprites were previously grouped together. To ungroup sprites 1 Select the group of sprites you want to ungroup. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Ungroup. 22

Exploding a group Explode a group when you want to convert it to a selection set of individual sprites. Exploding is similar to ungrouping in that both actions break up a grouped sprite. If you nested a grouped sprite by adding it to a larger group, then the original group is maintained when you ungroup the nested group. But when you explode a group, the result is always a set of individual sprites, regardless of whether some of those sprites were previously grouped together. To explode a group 1 Select the sprites you want to group. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Explode. Flattening a selection Flatten a selection when you want to convert the selection to a single sprite. Flattening is similar to grouping in that both actions combine a selection set of sprites. However, flattening is a permanent action, whereas a group of sprites can be ungrouped. You will need to flatten a selection if you want to perform certain actions on a set of sprites that cannot be performed on groups, such as rotating, resizing, cutting out, and applying effects or texture transfers. To flatten a selection 1 Select the sprites you want to permanently combine. Tip If you want to preserve your original sprites, duplicate the selection first, and then flatten the selection. In this way, you can still work with your original sprites individually. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 23

3 In the Arrange palette, click Flatten. Note You can reverse this action only by clicking Undo immediately after completing it. Changing the order of sprites Change the order of sprites in your composition when you want to control their position in the stack. For example, if you create a sprite that is a shadow of another sprite, you should change the order of those two sprites to make sure that the shadow is behind the other sprite. You can change the order of a sprite in respect to all the other sprites in your composition. You can also select two sprites and swap their order. In this case, the position of the source sprite is anchored, and Before or Behind moves the other sprite. Click the picture above to see an example of reordering sprites. To change the order of sprites 1 Select the sprites whose order you want to change. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click one of the Order tools. 24

Setting a home position When you place or arrange sprites on a composition, you can set a home position for each sprite or group of sprites. The home position is the sprite s location in the composition relative to the composition space. The status bar indicates the current position of the selected sprite by showing the x-axis and y-axis coordinates of the sprite s upper-left corner. Setting a home position stores the current position of the selected sprite. This is useful when you want to experiment with the placement of a sprite in your composition, but you want to be able to return the sprite to its original location. To do this, you simply restore the sprite to its home position. If you restore a sprite to its home position without first setting its home position, the sprite is placed in the upper-left corner of the composition space so that its x-axis and y-axis settings are both 0. To set a home position 1 Select a sprite and move it to the location that you want to set as its home position. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Set Home Position. 25

To return a sprite to its home position after you move it, click Return to Home Position. If you did not set a home position for this sprite, it will move to the upper-left corner of the composition space. Tip If you subsequently make a sprite part of a group, the position of the group is used instead of that of the sprite. When you ungroup the sprites, their individual positions are restored. Locking a sprite s position When you place or arrange sprites in a composition, you can lock the position of each sprite or group of sprites so that you cannot move it. When you position the pointer over a sprite whose position has been locked, the pointer changes to to indicate that you need to unlock it before you can move it. Locking a sprite is useful when you want to arrange or align a large set of sprites, but you want to make sure that specific sprites are not moved. For example, suppose you center a sprite in the composition space and want to arrange all the other sprites in the composition around that sprite. If you lock the center sprite, moving or aligning the other sprites will not change its position. To lock a sprite s position 1 Select a sprite and move it to the position that you want to lock. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Lock/Unlock Position. If the sprite s position was previously locked, clicking Lock/Unlock Position will unlock its position so that you can move it. Adjusting the bounding box to fit sprites 26

Fit Bounding Box tool You can adjust the size of a bounding box so that it fits the perimeter of the selected sprite. You may want to adjust a sprite s bounding box after you use the Crop/Extend tool to extend the bounding box. For example, suppose you extended the bounding box of a sprite so that you could select two sprites of identical size for a texture transfer. When the texture transfer is complete, you can return the bounding box that you extended to its former size. Click the picture above to see an example of cropping a sprite. To adjust the bounding box to fit a sprite 1 Select the sprite whose bounding box you want to tighten. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click Fit Bounding Box. Warping a sprite Warp tools Warp a sprite when you want to distort its proportions. Warping a sprite is useful when you want to create the illusion of depth perspective, for example. If you use one of the Warp tools, the pointer changes when it s positioned in the workspace. You can then drag the edges of the sprite s bounding box to see the outline of the warp: 27

Click the picture above to see an example of warping a sprite. To warp a sprite 1 Select the sprite you want to warp. 2 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 3 In the Arrange palette, click one of the Warp buttons. 4 Position the pointer over the sprite and drag the sprite s bounding box to the desired shape. You can click and drag the bounding box many times until it is shaped the way you want. 5 Click Apply. 28

Lesson_3 Cutting Room Microsoft Image Composer 29

Cutout palette With the tools on the Cutout palette, you can erase or copy areas of a sprite in a rectangular, oval, polygonal, or freeform shape. When you use one of the Cutout tools to select an area of a sprite, you can erase the selected pixels so that they are transparent, or you can create a new sprite from the selection. The Cutout palette provides two methods for creating a selection: Use a tool on the Cutout Tools tab to select a portion of a sprite in a specific shape: 30

Use the tool on the Select Color Region tab to select a portion of a sprite where the pixels have the same or a similar color. Select Color Region selects the pixel that you click on as well as the surrounding pixels that have the same color. You can adjust the settings for this tool to: Include pixels in your selection that are similar to, but not exactly the same as, the color of the pixel you click on. Add to or delete from your selection when you select additional color regions in the sprite. Search the entire sprite for pixels that match the color of the pixel you click on, or search just its neighboring pixels. Smooth the edges of your selection to avoid jagginess. Creating rectangular and oval cutouts from a sprite Create a rectangular or oval cutout of a sprite when you want to duplicate a portion of a sprite in the shape of a rectangle, square, oval, or circle. For example, if you want to create an oval portrait of a rectangular photograph, you can create an oval cutout. You can create rectangular cutouts as an alternative to cropping sprites: Instead of trimming away the excess portion of a sprite with the Crop/Extend tool, you can draw a rectangle around the area you want to keep. You can then turn that rectangle into a new sprite without affecting the original sprite. 31

To create a rectangular or oval cutout from a sprite 1 Select the sprite you want to create a cutout from. 2 On the toolbox, click Cutout. 3 On the Cutout Tools tab: Click Rectangle if the area you want to cut out can be encompassed best in a square or rectangular shape. Click Oval if the the area you want to cut out can be encompassed best in an oval or circular shape. 4 If you want the cutout to be more transparent than the selected sprite, move the Opacity slider to the left. You can also set the opacity by typing a number between 0 and 100 in the Opacity box. 5 Set the Edge slider to the desired position. For a crisp edge, move the slider all the way to the left; to blend the edge of the cutout with the background, move the slider toward the right. Tip Softer edges make it easier to blend the new sprite with other sprites in new compositions or in a different area of the current composition. 6 Place the pointer on or near the sprite, and then drag a selection outline. To create a square or circle, hold down SHIFT while dragging. 7 To move the selection outline, position the pointer in the center of the outline until a small square appears, and then drag the outline to its new location. To resize the selection outline, position the pointer over an edge of the outline until a small square appears, and then drag that edge or corner to its new position. 8 Click Cut Out. 9 Move the sprites apart to see the result. 32

Creating freeform cutouts from a sprite Create a freeform cutout of a sprite when you want to duplicate a portion of a sprite in an irregular shape. You can create a freeform cutout with curved or straight edges. For example, if you want to cut out a flower from its background, you can click around its petals and make that selected area into a new sprite. You can also create freeform cutouts as an alternative to erasing background images: Instead of erasing pixels in a sprite with the Erase tool, you can select the area you want to keep and turn that selection into a new sprite without affecting the original sprite. 4 If you want the cutout to be more transparent than the selected sprite, move the Opacity slider to the left. You can also set the opacity by typing a number between 0 and 100 in the Opacity box. 5 Set the Edge slider to the desired position. For a crisp edge, move the slider all the way to the left; to blend the edge of the cutout with the background, move the slider toward the right. 33

Tip Softer edges make it easier to blend the new sprite with other sprites in new compositions or in a different area of the current composition. 6 Click on the selected sprite or the workspace to create the first point of the curve or polygon. Continue to click where you want to add each new point to the selection outline. The outline of the freeform cutout is automatically drawn as you specify each point. 7 To change the selection outline, click a button under Edit curve or polygon: To move a point, click Move Points. Then position the pointer over a point until a small square appears, and drag that point to its new position. To add a point, click Add Points. Then click on the pixel in the sprite where you want to add the new point. To delete a point, click Delete Points. Then position the pointer over a point until a small square appears, and click that point to delete it. Tip Be sure to click one of these buttons before you try to edit the points in a curve or polygon, or each click in the sprite will add a new point to the selection outline. 8 Click Cut Out. 9 Move the sprites apart to see the result. 34

Erasing rectangular and oval areas in a sprite You can partially or totally erase areas of a sprite in the shape of a rectangle or oval. For example, if you want to create a hole in a sprite so that another image shows through, you can create a circular cutout. 4 If you want the erased area to be more transparent, move the Opacity slider to the left. You can also set the opacity by typing a number between 0 and 100 in the Opacity box. 5 Set the Edge slider to the desired position. For a crisp edge, move the slider all the way to the left; to blend the edge of the cutout with the background, move the slider toward the right. 6 Place the pointer on or near the sprite, and then drag a selection outline. To create a square or circle, hold down SHIFT while dragging. 7 To move the selection outline, position the pointer in the center of the outline until a small square appears, and then drag the outline to its new location. To resize the selection outline, position the pointer over an edge of the outline until a small square appears, and then drag that edge or corner to its new position. 8 Click Erase. 35

Creating a complementary shape of a sprite Creating a complementary shape of a sprite creates a copy of the sprite that contains opaque pixels where the original sprite was transparent, and transparent pixels where the original sprite was opaque. You can create a complementary shape of a sprite as an alternative to: Using the Curve or Polygon tools when you want to erase an area of a completely opaque sprite that has many intricate, irregular edges and a solid background. Setting the current color to the sprite s background color and creating a complementary shape produces the same result as erasing the freeform area. Using the Color Bounding Box effect, which colors all the opaque and transparent pixels within a sprite s bounding box. 36

Selecting color regions of a sprite You can select a portion of a sprite that has distinct areas of color by using the Select Color Region tool. When you click on a sprite with this tool, the color of the pixel you clicked on is compared with the color of its neighboring pixels. If the colors match, those pixels are added to the selection. For example, you can use this tool to select the eye color of a subject in a scanned photograph so that you can change that color without affecting the rest of the image. You can set options for this tool to define: How similar the colors in the neighboring pixels must be to the selected pixel in order for them to also be selected. Whether matching pixels will be added to or deleted from the selection. Whether to search neighboring pixels only or the entire sprite. If you create a new sprite from the selected color region, how crisp or fuzzy you want the edges in the new sprite to appear. Hue, Whiteness, and Blackness You can specify the degree of similarity, on a scale from 0 to 100, between the hue, whiteness, and blackness of the pixel you clicked and the pixels surrounding it. If all three settings are close to 0, the hue, whiteness and blackness values of the neighboring pixels must be nearly identical to the selected pixel. If these settings are close to 100, the match does not need to be very precise. Tip A good starting position is to set the Hue to 0, and set the Whiteness and Blackness to 100. You can then increase the Hue gradually to broaden the selection. Search and Selection modes You can set the Search Mode for the Select Color Region tool so that clicking a pixel selects all the neighboring pixels that match its color. Set the Search Mode to Local for this type of result. To broaden the scope of the search to every pixel in the sprite, set the Search Mode to Global. A global search compares the pixel you click on with every other pixel in the sprite. You can also specify whether you want to add the matching pixels to your selection or remove them from your selection. Selecting color regions has a cumulative effect: Each time you click a different pixel in the sprite, more pixels are added to or 37

removed from your selection. Thus, you can change the Selection setting to Add or Delete before each click. By clicking on different parts of the sprite, adjusting the Hue, Whiteness, and Blackness settings, and switching selection modes, you can precisely define the region you want to select. If you want to undo the results of your last click, switch selection modes and click Redo Last. For example, if you were in Add mode and clicked a pixel that added pixels to your selection that you don t want to include, you would click Delete and then click Redo Last to remove those pixels. Conversely, if you were in Delete mode and removed a group of pixels you wanted to keep in your selection, you would click Add and then click Redo Last to reselect them. Opacity and smoothness of copied sprites When you cut out the selected color region to create a new sprite, you can define the opacity of that sprite as well as the smoothness of its edges: An Opacity setting of 0 makes the new sprite completely transparent, and thus invisible; an opacity setting of 100 makes the sprite completely opaque. You can adjust the amount of fuzziness around the edges in the new sprite by moving the Edge setting toward Hard for crisper edges or toward Soft for fuzzy edges. Tip Softer edges make it easier to blend the new sprite with other sprites in new compositions or in a different area of the current composition. 38

Copying color regions of a sprite When you want to duplicate a portion of a sprite that has distinct areas of color, you can use the Select Color Region tool. This tool copies the color region you select to a new sprite without affecting the original sprite. If the portion you want to duplicate is harder to select than the rest of the sprite, you can duplicate the entire sprite and then use the Select Color Region tool to select the portion you want to erase. For details, see Erasing selected colors in a sprite. To copy a color region of a sprite 1 Select the sprite that you want to copy a portion of. 2 On the toolbox, click Cutout. Tip Before continuing, verify that the Opacity setting on the Cutout Tools tab is correct. If you want to the new sprite to be completely opaque, move the slider all the way to the right or enter 100 in the box. 3 On the Select Color Region tab, click Select Color Region. 4 Set the desired options: 39

5 Click inside the selected sprite on the color region you want to select. Matching pixels appear in the current color. Tip To undo the result of your last click, change the Selection option and click Redo Last. 6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 to add pixels to your selection or remove them from your selection. 7 Move the Edge slider if you want to reduce the appearance of jagged edges in the new sprite. Tip Softer edges make it easier to blend the new sprite with other sprites in new compositions or in a different area of the current composition 8 Click Cut Out. 9 Move the sprites apart to see the result. 40

Erasing selected colors in a sprite When you want to erase pixels in a sprite that are the same as or similar to a specific color, you can use the Select Color Region tool. This tool searches the sprite for pixels that match the color of the pixel you click on, and creates a color region that you can erase. When you erase the selected pixels, they become transparent. Erasing selected colors in a sprite is particularly useful when you create an image for a Web page and you want the page s background to show through a portion of the image. You can use Select Color Region as an alternative to the Erase tool when you want to erase pixels with the same color that are either clustered together or scattered throughout a sprite. To copy a color region of a sprite 1 Select the sprite that you want to erase a portion of. 2 On the toolbox, click Cutout. Tip Before continuing, verify that the Opacity setting on the Cutout Tools tab is correct. If you want to the new sprite to be completely opaque, move the slider all the way to the right or enter 100 in the box. 3 On the Select Color Region tab, click Select Color Region. 4 Set the desired options: 41

5 Click inside the selected sprite on the color region you want to select. Matching pixels appear in the current color. Tip To undo the result of your last click, change the Selection option and click Redo Last. 6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 to add pixels to your selection or remove them from your selection. 7 Click Erase. 42

Lesson_4 Add Text Microsoft Image Composer 43

Text sprite overview If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine the value of a picture composed of words! The text tool in Image Composer is not a word processor, but rather a tool to create exciting text images in any font installed on your computer. Text sprites are like any other sprites with respect to applying effects, resizing, and other tasks. Text sprites have special formatting attributes that you can modify after you create a text sprite, including the content of the text, font, and more. The following figure shows a text sprite and an edited, modified version of that sprite. Creating text sprites with different formatting When you create a text sprite, the formatting you specify is applied to the entire text sprite. If you want one word or group of characters to have a different font or color from the rest of the text sprite, you must create another text sprite containing those characters with the different formatting. Controlling text smoothing By default, text sprites are created with smoothing enabled. Smoothing is the result of anti-aliasing which means that the edges of the letters are rendered with varying degrees of transparency to eliminate jagged edges. Smoothing lends an even, nonjagged, appearance to text that is generally desirable, but can lead to fuzzy-looking characters for small text sprites. To produce sharp edges, clear the Smoothing check box on the Text palette. In the following figure, the text sprite on the left has smoothing turned on; the sprite on the right has smoothing turned off. Determining the length of text sprites 44

When you create a text sprite, the default size of the text edit box limits the number of characters you can enter. To increase the size of the edit box and thus, the number of characters you can enter, drag one of the sides to an appropriate size, then increase it again if you need to. If the edit box is larger than necessary to accommodate the text, the bounding box of the sprite is adjusted to an exact fit when you render the sprite. Editing text sprites You can apply any effect or tool to a text sprite. However, when you edit a text sprite, you lose any effects you have applied previously to that sprite. Be sure that the text and its formatting are what you want before you apply any effects to that sprite. However, if you make edits that are not what you want, you can undo the edits to return the text sprite to its pre-edited state. In addition, it is a good idea to keep track of the effects you applied to a text sprite so that you can duplicate your work. Creating text sprites Text sprites are like other sprites with respect to applying effects, but have the following formatting properties that you specify in the Text palette: Font. Image Composer supports any scaleable fonts that you have installed on your computer, including the sample fonts installed with this product. Style. Select a style from Regular, Bold, Bold Italic, and Italic. Size. Select a size from 1 to 1638 points. Alignment. Click an alignment button to Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right. Opacity. Move the Opacity slider to the setting you want for the text sprite. Or type a value between 0 and 100 in the Opacity box. Smaller values make the text more transparent; larger values make the text more opaque. Underlining. Select the Underline check box to underline the text. Smoothing. Select the Smoothing check box to enable anti-aliasing. When smoothing is enabled, jagged edges are blended with varying levels of transparency to create a smooth effect. For very small fonts, smoothing can lead to 45

text that might appear fuzzy. To create sharp-edged text sprites, clear the Smoothing check box. Color. Click the color chip to display the Color Picker, from which you choose a text color. Note When you create a text sprite, the formatting you specify is applied to the entire text sprite. If you want one word or group of characters to have different formatting from the rest of the text sprite, you must create another text sprite containing those characters with the different forma To create a text sprite 1 On the toolbox, click Text. Image Composer displays the text cursor and the Text palette. 2 On the Text palette, choose the sprite's properties. 3 Click within the workspace at the place you want the sprite to appear. Image Composer displays the text entry box at the location of the text cursor. The text sprite is rendered at this location. You can enlarge the entry box by dragging the resize handles. When you increase the height of the text entry box beyond the next line of text, the text you enter wraps to a new line if space permits, or you can press ENTER to start a new line. 4 Enter the text you want the sprite to contain. Make any changes to text properties before you render the text sprite. TIP The text edit box has a white background. For white or very light text, the characters might be hard to see. If you have trouble seeing the characters, select the text. It will stand out against the dark background of the selection. Be careful to deselect the selected text before you add or delete any characters or the entire selected text will be deleted. 5 Click outside the text entry box in the workspace to render the text sprite. 46

After you have created text sprites, you can edit their content to change the text, font, color, or any other attribute. However, when you edit a text sprite, you lose any effects you have applied to it. For more information, see Editing Text Sprites. In addition to creating text sprites, you can also insert text created with WordArt. You can use WordArt to perform actions such as changing spacing between characters, creating vertical text, and more. For more information, see Inserting WordArt. Editing text sprites You can edit an existing text sprite to change the content of the text, font, size, color, opacity, or any other text sprite attribute. However, when you edit a text sprite, you lose any effects that you have previously applied to that sprite. Be sure that the text sprite is the way you want it before applying effects. However, if you make edits that you are not satisfied with, you can undo the edits to return the text sprite to its pre-edited state. When you edit a text sprite, it moves to the top of the stack no matter what its actual position is in the stack. When you have finished editing the text, the text sprite returns to its actual position in the stack. To edit a text sprite 1 Double-click the text sprite you want to edit. The text sprite edit box and the Text palette are displayed. 2 In the text sprite edit box, add or delete text. 3 On the Text palette, change the text sprite formatting. 4 Click outside the text sprite edit box in the workspace to render the edited text sprite. To undo an edit to a text sprite On the Edit menu, click Undo Text Edit. 47

Creating justified text You can create justified text, such as justified lists, in the following ways: Increasing the size of the text sprite edit box and creating the list as a single text sprite. Creating separate sprites for each item in the list and then aligning the sprites. To create justified text with a single sprite 1 On the toolbox, click Text. 2 Click the Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right button, depending on whether you want the text justified left, centered, or justified right. 3 Drag the top or bottom resize handle of the text sprite edit box to increase the height of the edit box. 4 Type the first item in the list and press ENTER to begin a new line. Repeat for each item in the list. 5 Increase or decrease the height of the text sprite entry box to accommodate the list. 6 Click outside of the text entry box in the workspace to render the sprite. To create justified text with separate sprites 1 Create one text sprite for each item in the list. 2 Arrange the text sprites in the top-to-bottom spacing you want for the list. 3 Press and hold the SHIFT key and select all the text sprites; this creates a temporary selection set. 4 On the toolbox, click Arrange. 5 In the Align grid, click Left Sides for a left-justified list, Right Sides for a right-justified list, or Centers Vertically for a center-justified list. 48

Lesson_5 Create Shapes Microsoft Image Composer 49

Shapes overview Shapes palette With the Shapes tools, you can create rectangular and oval sprites. In addition, you can use the Curve and Polygon tools to create sprites that are freeform shapes. 50

Creating rectangles and squares To create a rectangle or square 1 On the toolbox, click Shapes. 2 On the Shapes palette, click Rectangle. 3 Set the Opacity slider to the desired position. For a completely opaque sprite, move the slider all the way to the right. 4 Set the Edge slider to the desired position. For a crisp line, move the slider all the way to the left; to blend the edge of the shape with its background, move the slider toward the right. 5 Place the pointer on the workspace, and then drag until the bounding box is the desired size. To create a square, hold down SHIFT while dragging. 6 Click Create. Once the sprite is on your workspace, you can change its fill color or pattern by applying the effects in the Effects palette. You can also fill it with the current color by clicking the Color Fill button on the toolbar. In addition, you can change the size of the sprite by dragging its resize handles, or rotate it by dragging its rotation handle in the upper-right corner of the bounding box. 51

Creating ovals and circles Create an oval or circle when you want to add a round shape in the current color to your composition. When you create the shape, you can specify its color, opacity, and edge softness. To create an oval or circle 1 On the toolbox, click Shapes. 2 On the Shapes palette, click Oval. 3 Set the Opacity slider to the desired position. For a completely opaque sprite, move the slider all the way to the right. 4 Set the Edge slider to the desired position. For a crisp line, move the slider all the way to the left; to blend the edge of the shape with its background, move the slider toward the right. 5 Place the pointer on the workspace, and then drag until the bounding box is the desired size. To create a circle, hold down SHIFT while dragging. The shape you create will fit exactly inside the bounding box. 6 Click Create. Once the sprite is on your workspace, you can change its fill color or pattern by applying the effects in the Effects palette. You can also fill it with the current color by clicking the Color Fill button on the toolbar. In addition, you can change the size of the sprite by dragging its resize handles, or rotate it by dragging its rotation handle in the upper-right corner of the bounding box. 52

Lesson_6 Painting Room Microsoft Image Composer 53

Paint tools overview Use the tools on the Paint Palette to apply effects that appear to have been applied by a brush, airbrush, pencil, sprite, or even your finger. Before using a paint tool, you must select a sprite and a brush. Regardless of which tool you choose, the effect is applied in a specific size and shape defined as a brush. You can work with brushes in the following ways: Use the Brush Designer to define and work with brushes of varied sizes, shapes, angles, and edge softness. In addition, you can create brush templates in the shapes of sprites. When you use a template as your brush, a thumbnail of the template is displayed in the Brush Display box. The Paintbrush, Airbrush, Pencil, Tint, and Colorize tools all use the color shown in the color swatch. Other tools, such as the Impressionist tool, apply an effect without changing the color of the area they are applied to. Click an area on the following figure for more information about the Paint tools palette. 54

Paint Palette Image Composer paint tools Click the tool below that you want to learn about. 55

Choosing a brush Use tools on the Paint palette to apply effects that appear as if applied by a brush, airbrush, pencil, or a variety of other tools. Regardless of which tool you choose, the effect is applied in a specific size and shape defined as a brush. You can specify certain aspects of the brush by using the Brush DesignerIDH_Brush_Designer. To choose a paint brush 1 On the toolbox, click Paint. 2 On the Paintbrush Selection grid, click the brush size and type you want. The brush size and slider reflect the brush size you click in the grid. If you want to work with a brush shape other than a circle, double click a brush in the selection grid to display the Brush Designer. Use the brush designer to work with a brush size, shape, rotation, and softness that you specify. 3 Hold down the left mouse button and drag the brush over the sprite to paint it. 56